Binder mechanism for skis



Oct. 21, 1941.

V. E. LEGROS BINDER MECHANISM FOR SKIS Filed A r l 25, 1940 32 45 c 4 8 IO 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lrivenTor. Vic'tor E.L.egf-os Oct 21, 1941. v LEGROSY 259,701

BINDER MECHA NI SM FOR SKIS Filed April 23, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Victor E. Legros Patented Oct. 21, 1941 UNITED STATES? PATENT OFFICE 2,259,701 r v BINDER MECHANISM ron sms Victor E. Legros, Fitehbili 'g', Mass. Application April 23, 1940, seria1 No. 33-1;0-'76 4 Claims. ((11. 280- 1135) This invention relates to ski bindings or harnes'ses for-attaching skis to the boot of the wearer of thetype which comprises a'to-e hold, a cable having a looped portion located in front of the toe hold with the ends of the cable connected to resilient means embracing'the heel of the boot. in 'such ski binders meansfor applying tension to the cable to clamp the boot firmly in the toe hold'is secured to the ski in front of the looped portion of the cable. One ofthe objects of the invention is to provide a novel tension-applying meansembodying a lever actuated toggle for im- '-posing tension upon a cable when the toggle is extended and which when tension is applied will be firmly locked, butwhich can be easily released by raising the lever.

A further object of the invention is to provide atensioning device of the character described of streamline construction andso housing the movable parts of the tension-applying mechan-ism as effectively to exclude the entrance of snow and iceinto the casing of the locking mechanism, thereby avoiding the freezing of the mov- -able parts together in such manner as to interfere with the easy release of the tension-applying mechanism.

' In'usual ski binders the toe hold is provided with a strap which extends over the top 'of the toe of the boot and which is adjusted permanently tightly to hold down the toe of the bootagainst the-ski. When the toe' of the boot is wedged tightly in a toe-hold having such binder difiiculty has frequently been experienced in releasing the toe of the boot from the ski in case of a-fall-Where it is necessary to free the boot from the'ski. Another object of the invention is toprovide a holddown for the toe of the boot which will be automatically slackened when the tension upon the cable is relieved.

In usual ski binder constructions the cable passes beneath guides which are secured to the sides of the ski at suitable points to permit "the heel of the boot to be raised for touring, but where the skier is executing a slalom, or sliding down a course which requires an abrupt turn, it is desirable that the heel of the boot be held much more closely adjacent to the ski in order to permit proper manipulation thereof.

-Another object of the invention is to provide a novel hitch construction which may be adjusted tosuch plurality of positions as will hold the boot in proper relation to the ski tor any desired manipulation of the ski. v Another object of the invention is to provide adjustable resilient means for securing an ankle str'apto the ski rearwardlyof the heel of the boot whichiwill aid in the m'ampulatio'n of the ski by 'insu'ringproper alineinentof the ski "with the boot of the wearer during turning movements and which will assist in holding the "skis properly upon the boot during jumping.

Another object of the invention is to provide nn-adjustable toe hold construction which "can be readily adapted to the toes of boots of different Widths or difierent contours. I v These and other objects and features of the :inventionwill more fully appear from the following description and the accompanying drawings and willbe particularly pointed out in the "claims.

A preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,

Fig. 1 is "a side view of a portion of a ski equipped with the ski binding mechanism "embodying the invention, illustrating the position of the boot in dotted lines with the heel of the -boot in-contact with the ski;

Fig. -2 is a plan view of the construction illustrated "in-Fig. -1;

Fig. 3vis a detail enlarged longitudinal vertical section of the tension-applying means for the cable shown in full lines in the position in which tens-ion upon the cable is released and in dotted lines "the position in which the cable is under tension and the tension-applying means in locked position;

Fig. 4 is a detail transverse vertical sectional view on line 4-4 Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a view, mainlyin vertical transverse section, showing a coiled spring mechanism for imposing tension upon the ankle strap;

. Fig. '6 is aside elevation of the same, one-side of the casing being omitted, and illustrating mechanism for adjusting the tension upon the spring whichiis connected to the ankle'strap;

Fig. 77 is a detail view of, the preferred form of adjustable clamping device for securing the holddown for the toe of the boot to the cable of the binder mechanism; and,

8 is *a 'detail view partly in vertical section of the hitch; and,

Fig. 9 is 'a detail vertical sectional view showing the manner in whichthe laterally adjustable toeholding' members are secured to the ski.

The preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings comprises'a -ski 1., which usually is made of hard wood, having properly positioned "upon and secured to its upper face a metal plate 2 upon which the heel and part of the sole of the boot 3 of the wearer rests. A plate 4, which is mounted immediately in front of and preferably abutting the front end of the plate 2, is provided with downwardly extending front and rear flanges 5 and 6 of such length as to position the upper surface of the plate 4 flush with that of the plate 2. Screws 1 located centrally of the width of the plate 4 secure it firmly to the ski.

The toe hold comprises complementary members having flatsections 8 which lie beneath the plate 4 and upwardly extending sides or wings 9 to engage the sides of the toe portions of' the sole and shoe. These upwardly extending side or wing members are provided with upwardly e'x-' tending downwardly curved flanges llldesirably arranged in an arcuate curve and an upper .forward and inwardly extending flange H; the

flanges I0 and II acting as guides for a toe.hold-.i down hereinafter to be described. Thefiat sections of the toe hold are provided near their justed to fit anysize or form of shoe and when thus adjusted can: be fixedly secured in place by ;setting up the screws 14. ,Aiwasher |5,;which desirably has roughened upperand lower faces, is interposed between, the plate 4 and the flat sections 8 of the toe hold, as illustrated in Fig. 9,

and serves when thescrews are setup to afford such friction between the plate 4 and the flat sections 8 of the toe hold as "to prevent lateral slippage when the. parts are clamped together .by the screws I4. I

Any other suitable frictional device such as a spring, washer may be employed for the-same purpose.

1 The 1 ski binding, mechanism for holding the toe of the boot firmly in the toe hold comprises a flexible wound main cable l6 having atitsforward end a loop, I! adjustably connectedatits free ends to a flexible member suchas a coiled .spring I8 which embraces the usual grooveiin the 'heel" of the-booth v Inasmuch as it'is desirable to enable the heel of the. boot to be raisedifrom the ski'during :touring and to holdthe heel in contact with or fcloser tothe ski for jumping or executing slalom, hitches are provided which will enableithe proper adjustment of. the heel relatively to the ski to be maintained for suchpurpose. v1 In some usual constructions a number of such'hitches are independently attached. to the sides of the shoe. One of the objects of the present invention is to provide means which will. permit a greater number .of adjustments of the hitch mechanism and in the'preferred embodiment of the invention, this .comprises complementary plates I9 which are properly positionedupon and secured to opposite sides of the ski, each of the plates having an outwardly and downwardly curved upper portion 20. provided with a series of slots 2| at suitable intervals. -'.The complementary portion of the hitch mechanism comprisescylindricalslides 22 which 'are mounted upon the cable I6 and provided'with downwardly extendingshanks 23 connected to an integral cylindrical bar 24 adapted to fit in the downwardly curved .upper portion-2B of the plates. IS, the shanks being sumciently narrow'to be inserted through the slots 2| so that the bars 24 will. anchor theslides in. the selected slots to give" the desired. freedomi of movementof the side walls 26 of the casing.

exclude snow and ice from accumulating and freezing upon the relatively movable parts of the tension applying mechanism so that the tension applying mechanism can be readily released when the skier finds it necessary or desirable to detach the boot from the ski.

Inthe preferred construction illustrated the tension applying mechanism comprises a channeli-shapedcasing having a base 25 and parallel side wallsj26-, the front end of the casing having anupwardly-V curved streamline section 2! which closes the front end ofthe casing. Each of the sidev walls 26 is provided near its forward end with a slot 28in which a shaft;2 9

slidably mounted. The lower end of; a manually operated, channel-shaped lever 3|] is pivotally connected to the ends of the shaft 29 outside of the side walls 26 of the casing. The side members 3|-of the channel-shaped lever are of suflicient width .whenthelever is in depressed position, as illustrated in dotted lines in Fig. 4, to enclose the side walls of the casing, and the upper end of the lever desirably is provided with a hooked extension 32 adapted to be easily grasped by the finger "of the operator. The lever '30 is provided ata suitable position intermediate of its lengthwith a transverse pin 33 which is mounted in-the side members 3| of the lever and-is pivotally connected to a link, the opposite end of which is pivotally mountedupon the The-preferred form of the link illustrated in the drawings is of integral construction comprising a plate having parallel side' members 34 connectedby an integral bridge portion 35 which extends from near the upper portion of the link to approximately the middle ,of its length and the lower end of the side members 3| of. the :link is pivotally mounted upon a rod 36 which in turn ismounted in the side walls 26 of'the channel; In this construction the forward ends of thelinksare located within the side members ;'3| of the leverand outside of the sidewalls 26 of. the casing. Desirably the ends of the rod extend slightly beyond ;the' side members '3,4 of the links and the lever 30 is provided withindentations or sockets 3'Ij adapted to engage the ends of the rod36 and lockthe lever in the downwardly depressed position illustrated in dotted linesin Fig. 3. 1

This construction is such that the lever 3|] is fulcrumed upon the-rod 33 which is mounted in the end of the 3side'members'34 of the link, so

that when the lever is swung to upright position, illustratedin full lines in Fig-3, the rod 29 at its the casing will prevent entrance of snow -and ice into the casing and protect the movable parts contained therein.

The rod 33, which forms the fulcrum lever 30,". is so positioned that when thelever is depressed to the position illustrated in dotted lines in-Fi'g.'3 the fulcrumwill lie below a plane passing through the rods 29 and 36 and thereby act to lock the toggle-like construction formed by the lever 39 and link 34 against release until thelever is swung upwardly by lifting up the hooked end 32 thereof.

In order to permit the rod 33 to be thus depresse'dth'e 'walls 26 of the casing are provided with recesses 38 as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. "The tension applying means which is actuated by the lever 3% comprises a channel-shaped slide having a base 39 which is slidably mounted upon the bottom 25 of the casing and is provided with upwardly extending side walls 40 which fit within the side walls of the casing and are provided adjacent the. forward ends with apertures or hearings in which the rod 29 is mounted; The rear portions of the side walls 46 are cut away to provide relatively narrow side walls which form ways to receive the edges of a tension bar, and lugs or flanges 4| punched from and extending inwardly from the side walls of the casing overlie and form guides for the relatively narrow side walls of the slide. The tension bar 42 is in the form of a flat plate fitting between the narrow portions of the side walls of the slide and is provided with a series of holes 43 adapted selectively to be engaged by a stud 44 which is fixedly secured to and extends upwardly from the rear end portion of the bottom portion of the slide. The tension bar is provided with an upwardly curved or hook-shaped end 45 which is adapted to engage the looped portion I! of the cable and desirably a retaining spring 46, which is secured to the bar 42, cooperates with the hooked end portion to provide a snap hook by which the cable can be readily attached or detached to the bar.

Suitable means are provided for holding down the tension bar 42 to maintainit in contact with the bottom 39 of the slide so that the stud 44 which projects upwardly from the bottom of the slide will be maintained in the selected hole in the tension bar and cause the tension bar to be moved with the slide. In the construction illustrated this is accomplished by a leaf spring 4'! the forward end. of which is mounted upon the rod 29 and provided with an upwardly curved rear end '48 which engages the tension bar 42. Suitable lugs or flanges 43 extending inwardly from the sides of the casing press upon the upper surface of the spring 41 and maintain the curved end thereof firmly in engagement with the tension bar, thus preventing detachment of the tension .bar from the lug 44, but enabling the tension bar to be adjusted by raising the rear end of it and moving it longitudinally relatively to the slide to enable the lug 44 to be positioned in a selected hole in the tension bar.

A further object of the invention is to provide a holddown for the toe of the boot which is automatically clamped upon the toe when tension is applied to the cable t6. In the preferred on st-ruction illustrated the holddown is in the form of a flexible cable having a looped portion 54 which extends over the toe of the boot'with the sides of the looped portion guided in an arcuate direction by the flanges H and 1-0 on the sides of the toe holding members 9. The

for the I ends of the cable. 50 are adjustably connected to the loopedportion I! of the inaincable I'E. An'y suitable means may be. provided for thus adjustably connecting the ends of the toe holddown cable 50 to the main cable I 6. A preferred construction is illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2. and indetail in Fig. '7 which comprises two complementary plates '52 and 53 having arcuate end portions adapted to embrace opposite sides of the end of the holddown cable 50 and the main cable IS, the plates having intermediate flat portions '54 whichare connected by a machine screw 55 which in addition to having a slot to receive the screw driver may alsobe provided with a cylindrical knurled surface to be grasped by the fingers. By setting up the machine screws 55 firmly the clamping members will secure both ends of the toe holddown cable firmly to the main cable.

In the operation of the device the lever'3'fl of the tension applying device is swung upwardly to the position illustrated in full lines in Fig. 3, thereby swinging the lever 38 about its fulcrum 33 and withdrawing the rod 29 rearwardly in the slot 28. This moves the slide and tension bar'42 rearwardly and slackens the cable so that when the toe of the boot is placed in the toe hold the resilient portion I8 of the binder may be easily passed over the heel and seat in the groove thereof.

In order to clamp the boot firmly upon the ski the lever 33 is swung downwardly to the dotted line position illustrated in Fig. '3, thereby swinging the lever 30 about its fulcrum 33 and moving the rod 29 forwardly in the slot 28 and consequently drawing forwardly the slide to which the rod 29 is connected, and consequently drawing forwardly the tension bar 42 which is connected to the slide. This imposes a tension upon the main cable I6 and firmly locks the boot to the ski, but in such manner that the heel of the boot may be raised in accordance with the ad justment of the hitches. At the same time the toe holddown cable is drawn forwardly so that its loopedportion 5| is clamped firmly upon the toe of the boot. When the lever 30 is swung down to the dotted line position illustrated in Fig. 3 it is locked in such position by reason of the fact that the fulcrum 33 passes below a plane passing through the rods 29 and 36 and forms a toggle look. In addition to this the sockets 31 in the side walls 3! of the lever engage over the projecting ends of the rod 36 and further insure the tight locking down of thelever.

The forward movement of the lower end "of the lever as it is swung down brings the end of the flat upper portion of the lever into engagement with the streamline end 21 of the casing, while the sides 3| of the lever cover the side walls of the casing and the slots 28 thereby preventing the admission of snow or ice into the casing, so that the movement of the slide will not be obstructed by accumulation of ice. When it is desired to remove the boot from the ski the lever 30 can be swung upward easily thus releasing not only the tension upon the main cable but also releasing tension upon the holddown cable and permitting the boot readily to be detached from the ski.

A further object of the invention is to provide novel means for maintaining the shoe in alinement with the ski, which is particularly important in executing slalom and in jumping. This is accomplished by providing an ankle strap which is releasably attached by resilient means to theski rearwardly of the heel'ofthe boot. The

preferred construction comprises an adjustable ankle strap 56 which passes over theinstep of the shoe and has secured to it rearwardly of the heel a metallic member having a loop 51 embracing the strap and terminating in a hook 58 which is detachably secured to a loop 59 which is pivotally secured to the end 60 of a flat steel coil spring 6| the other end of which is mounted upon and secured to a shaft 62 and wound thereon like a clock spring. The shaft 62 is mounted in a casing having a flat base 63 which is secured to a central portion of the ski rearwardly of the boot heel by screws 64 and has a vertical wall 65 and an arcuate wall 66 enclosing the spring 6| and provided with a suitable slot 61 through which the end. of the spring 6| passes. The casing is closed by a flat cover plate 68. The shaft 62 is mounted in a suitable bearing in the vertical wall 65 of the casing and has secured to it adjacent the wall 65 a hub 69 provided with a L loop 10 which may be operated to wind up the spring 6| to produce any desired tension upon the ankle strap. The opposite end of the shaft 62 has mounted upon it a ratchet H which is provided with a hub 12 mounted in a suitable pawl can be released from the ratchet to permit unwinding of the spring.

In the operation of this device the pawl may thus be released from the ratchet to slacken the tension upon the spring while the ankle strap is being strapped about the boot and the spring then wound up by rotating the loop 10 in a clockwise direction until the desired tension is applied to the ankle strap.

It will be understood that the embodiment of the invention shown and described herein is of an illustrative character and that various changes in construction and arrangement of parts may be made within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

1. A ski binding, for releasably securing a boot to a ski, having a metal toe hold, a cable having a loop located in front of said toe hold and resilient means connected to the ends of said cable embracing the heel of the boot, means for releasably applyi ng tension to said cable comprising a channel-shaped casing mounted in front of said loop, a slide mounted in said casing, means for guiding said slide longitudinally thereof, means connecting said slide to the loop of said cable, toggle mechanism connecting said slide to said casing including a link pivotally mounted at one end on said casing, and an inverted channelshaped lever fulcrumed intermediate of its length upon the other end of said link with the parallel side Walls of the channel outside of and pivotally connected at their ends to said slide operable when the lever is forced downwardly to locked position move said slide forward and thereby impose tension upon said cable with the channel-shaped lever when in locked position enclosing the top of the channel-shaped casing,

which will prevent accumulation of snow and ice in the casing.

2. A ski binding, for releasably securing a boot to a ski, having a metal toe hold, a cable having a loop located in front of said toe hold and re.- silient means connected to the ends of said cable embracing the heel of the boot, means for releasably applying tension to said cable comprising a channel-shaped casing mounted in front of said loop, a slide mounted in said casing, means for guiding said slide longitudinally thereof, means connecting said slide to the loop of said cable, toggle mechanism connecting said slide to said casing including a link pivotally mounted at one end on said casing, and an inverted channel-shaped lever fulcrumed intermediate of its length upon the other end of said link with the parallel side walls of the channel outside of and pivotally connected at their, ends to said slide operable when the lever is forced downwardly to move said slide forward and thereby impose tension upon said cable, the fulcrum of said lever being so positioned that when the lever is forced downwardly said fulcrum will lie below a plane passing through the pivotal connection of the lever to the slide and the pivotal connection of the link to the casing, thereby effectively locking the slide in tension-applying position with the channel-shaped lever when in locked position enclosing the top of the channelshaped casing, thereby providing a streamline construction whic hwill prevent accumulation of snow and ice in the casing,

3. A tension device for a ski binding for releasably securing a boot to a ski having a toe hold and a cable having a loop located in front of said toe hold with resilient means connected to the ends of the cable embracing the heel of the boot, comprising a channel-shaped casing mounted upon the ski in front of said cable loop and provided at its front end with an outwardly curved streamline cover portion, the side walls of said channel being provided near its front end with complementary hollow slots, a slide mounted in said casing, means for guiding the slide longitudinally thereof, a metal strap adjustably secured to said slide having means to engage the loop of said cable, toggle mechanism for actuating said slide comprising a channelshaped link pivotally connected to the rear end portions of the side walls of said casing, a channel-shaped lever fulcrumed upon the other end of said link and having side walls adapted to embrace the sidewalls of said link, a rod slidably mounted in the slots in said casing pivotally connected to the front end of said slide and to the lower end of the vertical sides of said channel-shaped lever, whereby upon depression of said lever to horizontal position the rod pivotally connecting the slide and lever will be moved forwardly in said channel to impose a tension upon the lever and simultaneously causing the channel-shaped lever to enclose the casing and slide and telescopically engaging the top of the easing, thereby providing a streamline housing protecting the mechanism within the casing from entrance of snow and ice.

4. A tension device for a ski binding for releasably securing a boot to a ski having a toe hold and a cable having a loop located in front of said toe hold with resilient means connected thereby providing a streamline construction 75 to the ends of the cable embracing the heel of the boot, comprising a channel-shaped casing mounted upon the ski in front of said cable loop and provided at its front end with an outwardly curved streamline cover portion, the side walls of said channel being provided near its front end with complementary hollow slots, a slide mounted in said casing, means for guiding the slide longitudinally thereof, an upwardly projecting lug on said slide, a metal strap having a series of holes selectively fitting said lug adjustably securing said strap to said slide having means to engage the loop of said cable, toggle mechanism for actuating said slide comprising a channel-shaped link pivotally connected to the rear end portions of the side walls of said casing, a channel-shaped lever fulcrumed upon the other end of said link and having side walls adapted to embrace the side walls of said link, a rod slidably mounted in the slots in said casing pivotally connected to the front end of said slide and to the lower end of the vertical sides of said channel-shaped lever, a holddown spring mounted on said rod engaging said strap, means on said casing for maintaining the spring in engagement with said strap, the construction being such that upon depression of said lever to horizontal position the rod pivotally connecting the slide and lever will be moved forwardly in said channel to impose a tension upon the lever and simultaneously causing the channel-shaped lever to enclose the casing and slide and telescopically engaging the top of the casing, thereby providing a streamline housing protecting the mechanism within the casing from entrance of snow and ice.

VICTOR E. LEGROS. 

